Client device motion control via a video feed

ABSTRACT

An approach is described for identifying enabling motion control of a client device, such as a mobile device, via a video feed transmitted from one or more video capture devices. An associated method may include establishing, via a communications network, a communication session between a client device and one or more video capture devices. The method further may include identifying a user of the client device via the one or more video capture devices and negotiating parameters of a video feed for transmission from the one or more video capture devices to the client device via the communication session. The method further may include, upon transmission of the video feed from the one or more video capture devices to the client device, facilitating control of the client device in response to any device control gesture received from the user based upon the video feed.

BACKGROUND

The various embodiments described herein generally relate to motioncontrol of a client device. More specifically, the various embodimentsdescribe techniques for enabling motion control of a client device, suchas a mobile device, via a video feed transmitted from one or more videocapture devices.

In certain scenarios, a user may be unable to feasibly control a clientdevice via buttons or voice commands. For instance, such user may not beable to physically access a mobile device or other computing device, orsuch user may be unable to effectively provide voice commands to amobile device in a crowded space having significant ambient noise. Insuch scenarios, an alternative technique for controlling a client devicemay increase accessibility and efficiency.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments described herein provide techniques for enablingmotion control of a client device (e.g., a mobile device) via a videofeed transmitted from one or more video capture devices. An associatedmethod may include establishing a communication session between a clientdevice and one or more video capture devices. The communication sessionmay be established via a communications network. The method further mayinclude identifying a user of the client device via the one or morevideo capture devices and negotiating parameters of a video feed fortransmission from the one or more video capture devices to the clientdevice via the communication session. The method further may include,upon transmission of the video feed from the one or more video capturedevices to the client device, facilitating control of the client devicein response to any device control gesture received from the user basedupon the video feed.

In an embodiment, the method further may include discontinuing thecommunication session and the video feed upon occurrence of adiscontinuation event. According to such embodiment, the discontinuationevent may include at least one of (i) receipt of a discontinuationrequest from the user or (ii) confirmation that the user has left aspecified optical range of each of the one or more video capturedevices. Additionally or alternatively, the discontinuation event mayinclude satisfaction of one or more discontinuation rules associatedwith the video feed. The one or more discontinuation rules may pertainto at least one of time allotment, cost allotment, a priority metricchange, or a security risk change.

In an embodiment, the method step of establishing the communicationsession may include initiating the communication session upon receivingfrom the user one or more initiation gestures via at least one of theone or more video capture devices. In a further embodiment, the methodstep of establishing the communication session may include broadcastingavailability of the one or more video capture devices to the clientdevice upon determining that the user is within a specified opticalrange of at least one of the one or more video capture devices. In afurther embodiment, the method step of establishing the communicationsession may include initiating the communication session upon receipt ofa signal from the client device indicating that the client device iswithin a predetermined geographical range of at least one of the one ormore video capture devices.

In an embodiment, the method step of identifying the user of the clientdevice may include confirming presence of the user via at least one of(i) recognition of one or more physical characteristics associated withthe user or (ii) confirmation of a location of the client devicerelative to the one or more video capture devices. In a furtherembodiment, the method step of identifying the user of the client devicemay include, upon determining that the user is within a specifiedoptical range of at least one of the one or more video capture devices,sending to the client device an identification gesture request uniquefor the user. According to such embodiment, the method step ofidentifying the user of the client device further may include, uponreceiving from the user one or more identification gesturescorresponding to the identification gesture request within apredetermined identification time period via at least one of the one ormore video capture devices, confirming presence of the user.

In an embodiment, the method step of negotiating parameters of the videofeed may include sending to the client device one or more video feedtransmission terms and a confirmation gesture request for the user.According to such embodiment, the method step of negotiating parametersfurther may include, upon receiving from the user one or moreconfirmation gestures corresponding to the confirmation gesture requestwithin a predetermined confirmation time period via at least one of theone or more video capture devices, sending a confirmation notificationto the client device.

An additional embodiment includes a computer program product including acomputer readable storage medium having program instructions embodiedtherewith, wherein the program instructions may be executable by acomputing device to cause the computing device to perform one or moresteps of above recited method. A further embodiment includes a systemhaving a client device, one or more video capture devices, and a serverincluding at least one processor and a memory storing an applicationprogram, which, when executed on the at least one processor, performsone or more steps of the above recited method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited aspects are attained andcan be understood in detail, a more particular description ofembodiments, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to theappended drawings.

Note, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typicalembodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be consideredlimiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equallyeffective embodiments.

FIG. 1A illustrates a motion control environment, according to a firstembodiment.

FIG. 1B illustrates a computing infrastructure for the motion controlenvironment illustrated in FIG. 1A, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a motion control environment, according to a secondembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of enabling gesture control of a clientdevice via a video feed transmitted from one or more video capturedevices, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of identifying a user of a client device viaone or more video capture devices, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of negotiating parameters of a video feed,according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments described herein are directed to techniques forenabling motion control of a client device via a video feed transmittedfrom one or more video capture devices. The various embodiments focus inparticular upon the use of gestures provided by a user of a clientdevice in conjunction with a video feed provided by one or more videocapture devices in order to control the client device. A client deviceaccording to the various embodiments described herein may be a mobiledevice (e.g., a smart phone, a feature phone, a tablet device, a laptop,etc.). Alternatively, a client device may be a stationary device withinproximity of at least one of the one or more video capture devices.

The various embodiments described herein may have advantages overconventional client device control techniques. Specifically, by enablingcontrol of client device functions via gestures, the various embodimentsmay facilitate client device control in scenarios in which buttonsassociated with the device are unavailable or inaccessible. Forinstance, the various embodiments may enable client device control whenthe device is located in a clothing pocket of a user or when the user iswearing mittens in inclement weather. Furthermore, the variousembodiments may enable client device control in scenarios in which voicecommands are difficult to process. For instance, the various embodimentsmay facilitate client device control when a user attempts to communicatein a crowded or noisy location. Some of the various embodiments may notinclude all such advantages, and such advantages are not necessarilyrequired of all embodiments.

In the following, reference is made to various embodiments of theinvention. However, it should be understood that the invention is notlimited to specific described embodiments. Instead, any combination ofthe following features and elements, whether related to differentembodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and practice theinvention. Furthermore, although embodiments may achieve advantages overother possible solutions and/or over the prior art, whether or not aparticular advantage is achieved by a given embodiment is not limiting.Thus, the following aspects, features, embodiments and advantages aremerely illustrative and are not considered elements or limitations ofthe appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s).Likewise, reference to “the invention” shall not be construed as ageneralization of any inventive subject matter disclosed herein andshall not be considered to be an element or limitation of the appendedclaims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s).

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a Blu-ray disc, a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encodeddevice such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove havinginstructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of theforegoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not tobe construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves orother freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic wavespropagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., lightpulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signalstransmitted through a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network, and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer,or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions also may be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The various embodiments described herein may be provided to end usersthrough a cloud computing infrastructure. Cloud computing generallyrefers to the provision of scalable computing resources as a serviceover a network. More formally, cloud computing may be defined as acomputing capability that provides an abstraction between the computingresource and its underlying technical architecture (e.g., servers,storage, networks), enabling convenient, on-demand network access to ashared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidlyprovisioned and released with minimal management effort or serviceprovider interaction. Thus, cloud computing allows a user to accessvirtual computing resources (e.g., storage, data, applications, and evencomplete virtualized computing systems) in the cloud, without regard forthe underlying physical systems (or locations of those systems) used toprovide the computing resources.

Typically, cloud computing resources are provided to a user on apay-per-use basis, where users are charged only for the computingresources actually used (e.g., an amount of storage space consumed by auser or a number of virtualized systems instantiated by the user). Auser can access any of the resources that reside in the cloud at anytime, and from anywhere across the Internet. In context of thisdisclosure, workloads of a client device or server system running anapplication according to the various embodiments described herein may bedeployed to a computing cloud. Moreover, cloud-based database systems,virtual machines, and a variety of other server applications may be usedto manage such workloads.

Further, particular embodiments describe techniques for enabling motioncontrol of a client device via a video feed transmitted from one or morevideo capture devices. However, it should be understood that thetechniques described herein may be adapted to a variety of purposes inaddition to those specifically described herein. Accordingly, referencesto specific embodiments are included to be illustrative and notlimiting.

FIG. 1A illustrates a motion control environment 100, according to anembodiment. Motion control environment 100 may include a user 103. User103 may be in possession of a client device 105, an audio device 125(e.g., headphones) and a vibration device 127 (e.g., a watch).Furthermore, motion control environment 100 may include a motion controlserver 135, which may facilitate motion control of client device 105.Motion control environment 100 further may include a video capturedevice 165, which may capture, record, or otherwise process video dataand may create and transmit a video feed based upon such video data.Although shown as a single device, video capture device 165 is includedto be representative of a single video capture device or multiple videocapture devices. In an embodiment, client device 105 may be a mobiledevice (e.g., a smart phone, a feature phone, a tablet device, or alaptop) or a stationary device within proximity of video capture device165. In a further embodiment, client device 105 may be a thin clientthat may depend upon motion control server 135, video capture device165, or another external computing device to fulfill computationalroles.

FIG. 1B illustrates a computing infrastructure 101 for motion controlenvironment 100, according to an embodiment. As shown, computinginfrastructure 101 includes client device 105, motion control server135, and video capture device 165, each connected to a communicationsnetwork 195. Computing infrastructure 101 is an example and is notintended to be limiting. Illustratively, client device 105 may include amemory 107, storage 109, input/output (I/O) device interface 111, acentral processing unit (CPU) 113, and a client network interface 115,all of which may be interconnected via interconnect 117 (e.g., a bus).Although shown as a single computing system, client device 105 isincluded to be representative of a single client computing system ormultiple client computing systems. Memory 107 may include a clientapplication 119. Client application 119 may be an online/networkapplication configured for interfacing with motion control server 135,video capture device 165, and other computing systems. Storage 109 mayinclude client application data 121 associated with client application119. I/O device interface 111 may be communicatively coupled to one ormore client I/O devices 123. Client I/O devices 123 may include audiodevice 125 and vibration device 127. Optionally, client I/O devices 123may be directly linked to network 195. CPU 113 is included to berepresentative of a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a single CPU havingmultiple processing cores, and the like. Client network interface 115may receive data from and transmit data to server 135 or video capturedevice 165 via network 195.

Motion control server 135 may include a memory 137, storage 139, I/Odevice interface 141, a CPU 143, and a server network interface 145, allof which may be interconnected via interconnect 147 (e.g., a bus).Although shown as a single computing system, motion control server 135is included to be representative of a single server system or multipleserver systems. Memory 137 may include a motion control application 149.Motion control application 149 may interface with at least one of adatabase management system, a discussion forum, a social network, aproduct marketplace, or a weblog. According to an embodiment,functionality of motion control server 135 (e.g., some or all of thefunctionality of motion control application 149) may be incorporatedinto client application 119 of client device 105.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, motion control application 149 interfaceswith a database management system (DBMS) 151, also included in memory137. DBMS 151 is included be representative of a single database systemor multiple database systems. Storage 139 may include motion controlapplication data 153 and databases 155. Motion control application 149may generate and process motion control application data 153 based oninteraction with client device 105 or video capture device 165. Motioncontrol application 149 may send database requests to DBMS 151, andmotion control application 149 may process results returned by DBMS 151to generate motion control application data 153. DBMS 151 may include asoftware application configured to manage databases 155. Databases 155may include one or more relational databases. Additionally, databases155 may include one or more ontology trees or other ontologicalstructures. While FIG. 1B illustrates three databases 155, computinginfrastructure 101 may include any number of databases. According to anembodiment, DBMS 151 may send requests to remote databases (not shown)via network 195.

I/O device interface 141 may be communicatively coupled to one or moreserver I/O devices 157. CPU 143 is included to be representative of asingle CPU, multiple CPUs, a single CPU having multiple processingcores, and the like. Server network interface 145 may receive data fromand transmit data to client device 105 or video capture device 165 vianetwork 195. Specifically, motion control application 149 may acceptrequests sent by client device 105 or video capture device 165 to motioncontrol server 135 and may transmit data to client device 105 or videocapture device 165 via server network interface 145.

Video capture device 165 may include a memory 167, storage 169, acentral processing unit (CPU) 171, and an video capture device networkinterface 173, all of which may be interconnected via interconnect 175(e.g., a bus). Video capture device 165 may include a single computingdevice or multiple computing devices. Memory 167 may include a videocapture application 177, which may be an application for processingvideo data captured by video capture device 165. Video captureapplication 177 may be an online application configured for interfacingwith client device 105, motion control server 135, and other computingsystems. Storage 169 may include video capture data 179 associated withvideo capture application 177. CPU 171 is included to be representativeof a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a single CPU having multiple processingcores, and the like. Video capture device network interface 173 mayreceive data from and transmit data to client device 105 or motioncontrol server 135 via network 195.

In an embodiment, functions related to motion control processing may beexecuted externally to motion control server 135. According to suchalternative embodiment, motion control application 149 may communicatewith applications external to motion control server 135 in order to sendinformation or to obtain information or data created as a result ofmotion control processing. Furthermore, according to such alternativeembodiment, a database management system and one or more databasesexternal to motion control server 135 may provide information orcapabilities necessary for motion control processing.

Although motion control server 135 is shown as a separate component inmotion control environment 100 and computing infrastructure 101,according to an alternative embodiment some or all of the components orfunctionality of motion control server 135 may be incorporated intovideo capture device 165 or into another computing system. FIG. 2illustrates a motion control environment 200, in which motion controlserver 135 is incorporated into video capture device 165.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 of enabling motion control of a clientdevice in a motion control environment (e.g., client device 105 inmotion control environment 100), according to an embodiment. A motioncontrol application of a motion control server in the motion controlenvironment (e.g., motion control application 149 of motion controlserver 135 in motion control environment 100) may enable motion controlof the client device according to the method 300. The motion controlapplication may be part of a computing infrastructure for the motioncontrol environment (e.g., computing infrastructure 101 for motioncontrol environment 100). According to the method 300, the motioncontrol application may enable motion control of the client device via avideo feed created by and transmitted from one or more video capturedevices in the motion control environment (e.g., video capture device165 in motion control environment 100).

The method 300 may begin at step 305, where the motion controlapplication may establish a communication session between the clientdevice and the one or more video capture devices. The motion controlapplication may establish the communication session via a communicationsnetwork (e.g., network 195 in computing infrastructure 101). The motioncontrol application may establish the communication session according tostep 305 in one or more of various ways. In an embodiment, the motioncontrol application may establish the communication session byinitiating the communication session upon receiving from a user of theclient device one or more initiation gestures via at least one of theone or more video capture devices. According to such embodiment, inresponse to one or more initiation gestures provided by the user of theclient device, at least one of the one or more video capture devices maycapture the one or more initiation gestures and may relay them to themotion control application, which in turn may determine based upon theone or more initiation gestures that the user wishes to establishcommunication. In a further embodiment, the motion control applicationmay establish the communication session by broadcasting availability ofthe one or more video capture devices to the client device upondetermining that the user of the client device is within a specifiedoptical range of at least one of the one or more video capture devices.According to such embodiment, the motion control application maybroadcast availability of the one or more video capture devices viastandard communication protocols and may establish the communicationsession upon receiving an affirmative response from either the clientdevice (e.g., via a confirmation message) or the user of the clientdevice (e.g., via one or more initiation gestures captured by at leastone of the one or more video capture devices). In a further embodiment,the motion control application may establish the communication sessionby initiating the communication session upon receipt of a signal fromthe client device indicating that the client device is within apredetermined geographical range of at least one of the one or morevideo capture devices. According to such embodiment, the client devicemay have access to information (e.g., from a geographical database)pertaining to the respective locations and capabilities of each of theone or more video capture devices and may send a signal requestingestablishment of communication upon arrival within a predeterminedgeographical range of at least one of the one or more video capturedevices. In a further embodiment, the motion control application mayestablish the communication session upon receipt of a communicationsession query from the client device. According to such embodiment, acommunication session query may be sent from the client device atregular time intervals or alternatively may be sent from the clientdevice in response to a user request.

At step 310, the motion control application may identify the user of theclient device via the one or more video capture devices. In anembodiment, the motion control application may identify the user of theclient device upon confirming that the user is the only user withinproximity of the one or more capture devices. In a further embodiment,the motion control application may identify the user of the clientdevice among other users within proximity of the one or more videocapture devices by confirming presence of the user via recognition ofone or more physical characteristics associated with the user. Forinstance, the motion control application may confirm the presence of theuser via one or more facial characteristics associated with the user.Additionally or alternatively, the motion control application mayconfirm the presence of the user via one or more distinguishing marksassociated with the user (e.g., birthmarks). Additionally oralternatively, the motion control application may confirm the presenceof the user via one or more articles of clothing (e.g., a distinctivesweater) or items carried by the user (e.g., a backpack). Additionallyor alternatively, the motion control application may confirm presence ofthe user via confirmation of a location of the client device relative tothe one or more video capture devices. The motion control applicationmay confirm the location of the client device by using detailedelectronic location data (e.g., obtained via Global Positioning System(GPS), triangulation, tags, etc.) overlaid with video content capturedfrom at least one of the one or more video capture devices. Forinstance, the motion control application may determine from detailedelectronic data overlaid with video content that the client device islocated a certain distance away from a certain video capture deviceamong the one or more video capture devices and furthermore that theclient device is oriented at a certain angle with respect to the certainvideo capture device, and based upon such determination the motioncontrol application may verify that the user is in possession of theclient device within view of the certain video capture device. A furtherembodiment pertaining to identifying the user of the client device viathe one or more video capture devices according to step 310 is describedherein in a method 400.

According to an embodiment, upon establishment of the communication atstep 305 and/or upon identification of the user at step 310, the motioncontrol application may send one or more notifications to the user ofthe client device indicating that the communication session hascommenced. Specifically, the motion control application may send one ormore notification signals to I/O devices communicably coupled to theclient device (e.g., client I/O devices 123 in computing infrastructure101). For instance, the motion control application may send an audiosignal in the form of a tone or a computerized voice to an audio device(e.g., audio device 125) communicably coupled to the client device toindicate to the user that the communication session has commenced. Asanother example, the motion control application may send a vibrationsignal to a vibration device (e.g., vibration device 127) communicablycoupled to the client device to indicate to the user that thecommunication session has commenced.

At step 315, the motion control application may negotiate parameters ofa video feed for transmission from the one or more video capture devicesto the client device via the communication session. Video feedparameters to be negotiated at step 315 may include one or more terms tobe accepted by the user of the client device. The video feed may includeraw video data as well as metadata describing any gesture, event, orother attribute with respect to the client device or the user of theclient device that may be decoded based upon the raw video data.Furthermore, the video feed may include any device control gesturereceived from the user and captured via one or more cameras respectivelyassociated with the one or more video capture devices. An embodimentpertaining to negotiating parameters of the video feed according to step315 is described herein in a method 500.

At step 320, upon transmission of the video feed from the one or morevideo capture devices to the client device, the motion controlapplication may facilitate control of the client device in response toany device control gesture received from the user of the client devicebased upon the video feed. In an embodiment, the one or more videocapture devices may transmit the video feed to the motion controlapplication, and the motion control application in turn may transmit thevideo feed to the client device. More specifically, one or more videocapture applications among the one or more video capture devices (e.g.,video capture application 177 of video capture device 165) may transmitthe video feed to the motion control application, and the motion controlapplication in turn may transmit the video feed to a client applicationof the client device (e.g., client application 119 of client device105). In an alternative embodiment, the one or more video capturedevices may transmit the video feed directly to the client device. Morespecifically, one or more video capture applications among the one ormore video capture devices may transmit the video feed directly to theclient application of the client device. According to both embodiments,the one or more video capture devices may ensure transmission of thevideo feed and any data related thereto to the motion controlapplication so that the motion control application may facilitatecontrol of the client device according to step 320. The motion controlapplication may facilitate either direct control or indirect control ofthe client device.

According to an embodiment, the motion control application mayfacilitate direct control of the client device according to step 320 bysending one or more control signals or events to the client device inresponse to any device control gesture received from the user. Accordingto such embodiment, the video feed transmitted to the client device mayserve as a guide for the user of the client device to ensure that anydevice control gesture is properly received by the one or more videocapture devices. For instance, in the event that the user of the clientdevice is only partially in view of a certain video capture device amongthe one or more video capture devices, the video feed may serve to alertthe user of the issue, and in response the user may relocate to aposition fully in view of the certain video capture device.

According to one implementation of the direct control embodiment, uponreceipt of the video feed from the one or more video capture devices,the motion control application may decode raw video data from the videofeed to determine the presence of any device control gesture receivedfrom the user by at least one of the one or more video capture devices,may create one or more control signals or events based upon suchdecoding, and then may send to the client device the one or more controlsignals or events. According to another implementation of the directcontrol embodiment, a certain video capture device among the one or morevideo capture devices may decode raw video data from the video feed todetermine the presence of any device control gesture received from theuser and then may send to the motion control application gesturemetadata based upon the decoded video feed as well as the raw videodata. Based upon such gesture metadata, the motion control applicationin turn may create one or more control signals or events and then maysend to the client device the one or more control signals or events.According to a further implementation of the embodiment, upon receipt ofthe video feed from the one or more video capture devices, the motioncontrol application may send the video feed to another device in themotion control environment, which in turn may decode raw video data fromthe video feed to determine the presence of any device control gesturereceived from the user and then may return to the motion controlapplication gesture metadata based upon the decoded video feed. Basedupon such gesture metadata received from the other device in the motioncontrol environment, the motion control application in turn may createone or more control signals or events and then may send to the clientdevice the one or more control signals or events.

According to an alternative embodiment, the motion control applicationmay facilitate indirect control of the client device according to step320 by assisting with client device control. According to suchalternative embodiment, the client device may directly control one ormore device settings via the video feed in response to a device controlgesture received from the user, and the motion control application mayfacilitate indirect control of the client device by ensuring that thevideo feed is consistently transferred from the one or more videocapture devices to the client device in accordance with the parametersnegotiated at step 315. Furthermore, according to such alternativeembodiment, the video feed transmitted to the client device not only mayserve as a guide for the user of the client device but also may serve asa conduit via which the client device may control one or more devicesettings in response to any device control gesture received from theuser.

According to one implementation of the alternative indirect controlembodiment, upon receipt of the video feed from the one or more videocapture devices, the motion control application may decode raw videodata from the video feed to determine the presence of any device controlgesture received from the user by at least one of the one or more videocapture devices. Based upon the decoded video feed, the motion controlapplication then may send to the client device gesture metadata. In thisimplementation, the motion control application may send to the clientdevice only the gesture metadata, or the motion control application maysend to the client device all information related to the video feed,including both raw video data and the gesture metadata. According toanother implementation of the alternative indirect control embodiment,upon receipt of the video feed from the one or more video capturedevices, the motion control application may send to the client deviceonly raw video data from the video feed. In this implementation, theclient device may decode the raw video data to determine the presence ofany device control gesture received from the user via the one or morevideo capture devices. Alternatively, in this implementation the clientdevice may send the raw video data received from the motion controlapplication to another device in the motion control environment, whichin turn may decode the raw video data to determine the presence of anydevice control gesture received from the user and then may return to theclient device gesture metadata based upon the decoded video feed.

The motion control application may decode or otherwise process videofeed data with respect to both overt and covert device control gesturesreceived from the user of the client device. For instance, an overtdevice control gesture received from the user may entail a raised handcorresponding to a request to adjust upward the volume of the clientdevice. As a further example, an overt device control gesture receivedfrom the user may entail a single index finger over the mouthcorresponding to a request to mute the volume of the client device. As afurther example, a covert device control gesture received from the usermay entail a handshake with a second user corresponding to a request toshare information of the client device with a device in the possessionof the second user.

At step 325, the motion control application may discontinue thecommunication session established at step 305 and the video feedtransmitted according to step 320 upon occurrence of a discontinuationevent. In an embodiment, the discontinuation event may include receiptof a discontinuation request from the user. Additionally oralternatively, the discontinuation event may include confirmation thatthe user has left a specified optical range of each of the one or morevideo capture devices. Additionally or alternatively, thediscontinuation event may include satisfaction of one or morediscontinuation rules associated with the video feed. In an embodiment,the one or more discontinuation rules may pertain to at least one oftime allotment, cost allotment, a priority metric change, or a securityrisk change. For instance, a discontinuation rule associated with thevideo feed may entail requiring that the communication session and thevideo feed be discontinued after a predetermined time period. A furtherdiscontinuation rule associated with the video feed may entail requiringthat the communication session and the video feed be discontinued onceprovision of the video feed exceeds a predetermined cost with respect tomoney or resources. A further discontinuation rule associated with thevideo feed may entail requiring that the communication session and thevideo feed be discontinued once a priority metric associated with thevideo feed is reduced to a predetermined level. A furtherdiscontinuation rule associated with the video feed may entail requiringthat the communication session and the video feed be discontinued once asecurity risk associated with the video feed rises to or exceeds apredetermined level.

FIG. 4 illustrates method 400 of identifying the user of the clientdevice via the one or more video capture devices. The method 400provides an example embodiment with respect to step 310 of the method300. The method 400 may begin at step 405, where the motion controlapplication may determine whether the user is within a specified opticalrange of at least one of the one or more video capture devices. Upondetermining at step 405 that the user is not within the specifiedoptical range of at least one of the one or more video capture devices,the method 400 may end. Upon determining at step 405 that the user iswithin the specified optical range of at least one of the one or morevideo capture devices, at step 410 the motion control application maysend to the client device an identification gesture request unique forthe user. The identification gesture request sent according to step 410may stipulate that the user provide one or more user-specificidentification gestures. In an embodiment, the motion controlapplication may send the identification gesture request in the form ofan audio signal, which may be transmitted to the audio devicecommunicably coupled to the client device, a speaker of the clientdevice, or another device communicably coupled to the client devicehaving a capability to present a manifestation of the audio signal.Additionally or alternatively, the motion control application may sendthe identification gesture request in the form of a vibration signal,which may be transmitted to the vibration device communicably coupled tothe client device, a vibration module of the client device, or anotherdevice communicably coupled to the client device having vibrationcapability.

At step 415, the motion control application may determine whether one ormore identification gestures corresponding to the identification gesturerequest have been received from the user within a predeterminedidentification time period via at least one of the one or more videocapture devices. Upon determining at step 415 that no identificationgesture corresponding to the identification gesture request has beenreceived from the user within the predetermined identification timeperiod, then the motion control application may return to step 410, andthe motion control application may re-send to the client device theidentification gesture request unique for the user. Upon determining atstep 415 that one or more identification gestures corresponding to theidentification gesture request have been received from the user withinthe predetermined identification time period, then at step 420 themotion control application may confirm presence of the user. In anembodiment, consequent to confirming presence of the user, the motioncontrol application may send an identification confirmation message tothe client device in the form of an audio signal, which may betransmitted to the audio device communicably coupled to the clientdevice, a speaker of the client device, or another device communicablycoupled to the client device having a capability to present amanifestation of the audio signal. Additionally or alternatively, themotion control application may send an identification confirmationmessage to the client device in the form of a vibration signal, whichmay be transmitted to the vibration device communicably coupled to theclient device, a vibration module of the client device, or anotherdevice communicably coupled to the client device having a vibrationcapability.

FIG. 5 illustrates method 500 of negotiating parameters of the videofeed. The method 500 provides an example embodiment with respect to step315 of the method 300. The method 500 may begin at step 505, where themotion control application may send to the client device one or morevideo feed transmission terms and a confirmation gesture request for theuser. According to an embodiment, the one or more video feedtransmission terms may include one or a combination of transmissioncost, communication method, bandwidth, image quality of the video feed,user image size for the video feed, security parameters with respect tothe video feed, or privacy parameters with respect to the video feed. Inan embodiment, the motion control application may determine transmissioncost based in part upon the identity of the user. For instance, themotion control application may transmit the video feed without cost orat a reduced cost to a user affiliated with a designated group orconnected via an online network to a designated individual or group. Asanother example, the motion control application may transmit the videofeed without cost or at a reduced cost to a user within a predeterminedgeographic range, such as within the confines of a particular building.In a further embodiment, the motion control application may determinebandwidth, image quality of the video feed, or user image size for thevideo feed based upon cost considerations or respective processingcapabilities of the client device or the one or more video capturedevices. In a further embodiment, the motion control application maydetermine user image size for the video feed based upon a range ofexpected gestures to be communicated by the user of the client device(e.g., an image of the upper body of the user may be necessary if thereis an expectation that the user will communicate any gesture thatrequires use of the user's arms). In a further embodiment, the motioncontrol application may determine user image size for the video feedbased upon security or privacy concerns with respect to inclusion of theuser in the video feed. In a further embodiment, the motion controlapplication may restrict transmission or subsequent use of the videofeed based upon security or privacy concerns with respect to potentialcirculation of the video feed.

The confirmation gesture request sent according to step 505 maystipulate that the user of the client device review and accept each ofthe one or more video feed transmission terms and further may stipulatethat the user provide one or more confirmation gestures. In anembodiment, the motion control application may send the confirmationgesture request in the form of an audio signal, which may be transmittedto the audio device communicably coupled to the client device, a speakerof the client device, or another device communicably coupled to theclient device having a capability to present a manifestation of theaudio signal. Additionally or alternatively, the motion controlapplication may send the confirmation gesture request in the form of avibration signal, which may be transmitted to the vibration devicecommunicably coupled to the client device, a vibration module of theclient device, or another device communicably coupled to the clientdevice having a vibration capability.

At step 510, the motion control application may determine whether one ormore confirmation gestures corresponding to the confirmation gesturerequest have been received from the user within a predeterminedconfirmation time period via at least one of the one or more videocapture devices. Upon determining at step 510 that no confirmationgesture corresponding to the confirmation gesture request has beenreceived from the user within the predetermined confirmation timeperiod, then at step 515 the motion control application may abort thecommunication session established at step 305 of the method 300, and themethod 500 may end. Upon determining at step 510 that one or moreconfirmation gestures corresponding to the confirmation gesture requesthave been received from the user within the predetermined confirmationtime period, then at step 520 the motion control application may send aconfirmation notification to the client device, and the method 500 mayend. In an embodiment, the motion control application may send theconfirmation notification to the client device in the form of an audiosignal, which may be transmitted to the audio device communicablycoupled to the client device, a speaker of the client device, or anotherdevice communicably coupled to the client device having a capability topresent a manifestation of the audio signal. Additionally oralternatively, the motion control application may send the confirmationnotification to the client device in the form of a vibration signal,which may be transmitted to the vibration device communicably coupled tothe client device, a vibration module of the client device, or anotherdevice communicably coupled to the client device having a vibrationcapability.

By enabling client device motion control, the various embodimentsdescribed herein may facilitate client device control in scenarios inwhich conventional control techniques (e.g., via buttons or via voicecommands) are infeasible or impossible.

While the foregoing description is directed to various embodiments, suchdescription is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Allkinds of modifications made to the described embodiments and equivalentarrangements should fall within the protected scope of the invention.Hence, the scope of the invention should be explained most widelyaccording to the claims that follow in connection with the detaileddescription, and should cover all the possibly equivalent variations andequivalent arrangements. Accordingly, further embodiments may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: establishing, via acommunications network, a communication session between a client deviceand one or more video capture devices; identifying a user of the clientdevice via the one or more video capture devices; negotiating parametersof a video feed for transmission from the one or more video capturedevices to the client device via the communication session; and upontransmission of the video feed from the one or more video capturedevices to the client device, facilitating control of the client devicein response to any device control gesture received from the user basedupon the video feed.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:discontinuing the communication session and the video feed uponoccurrence of a discontinuation event.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe discontinuation event comprises at least one of (i) receipt of adiscontinuation request from the user or (ii) confirmation that the userhas left a specified optical range of each of the one or more videocapture devices.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the discontinuationevent comprises satisfaction of one or more discontinuation rulesassociated with the video feed, and wherein the one or morediscontinuation rules pertain to at least one of time allotment, costallotment, a priority metric change, or a security risk change.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein establishing the communication sessioncomprises initiating the communication session upon receiving from theuser one or more initiation gestures via at least one of the one or morevideo capture devices.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishingthe communication session comprises broadcasting availability of the oneor more video capture devices to the client device upon determining thatthe user is within a specified optical range of at least one of the oneor more video capture devices.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinestablishing the communication session comprises initiating thecommunication session upon receipt of a signal from the client deviceindicating that the client device is within a predetermined geographicalrange of at least one of the one or more video capture devices.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein identifying the user of the client devicecomprises confirming presence of the user via at least one of (i)recognition of one or more physical characteristics associated with theuser or (ii) confirmation of a location of the client device relative tothe one or more video capture devices.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the user of the client device comprises: upon determiningthat the user is within a specified optical range of at least one of theone or more video capture devices, sending to the client device anidentification gesture request unique for the user; and upon receivingfrom the user one or more identification gestures corresponding to theidentification gesture request within a predetermined identificationtime period via at least one of the one or more video capture devices,confirming presence of the user.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinnegotiating parameters of the video feed comprises: sending to theclient device one or more video feed transmission terms and aconfirmation gesture request for the user; and upon receiving from theuser one or more confirmation gestures corresponding to the confirmationgesture request within a predetermined confirmation time period via atleast one of the one or more video capture devices, sending aconfirmation notification to the client device.
 11. A computer programproduct comprising a computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya computing device to cause the computing device to: establish acommunication session between a client device and one or more videocapture devices; identify a user of the client device via the one ormore video capture devices; negotiate parameters of a video feed fortransmission from the one or more video capture devices to the clientdevice via the communication session; and upon transmission of the videofeed from the one or more video capture devices to the client device,facilitate control of the client device in response to any devicecontrol gesture received from the user based upon the video feed. 12.The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the programinstructions further cause the computing device to: discontinue thecommunication session and the video feed upon occurrence of adiscontinuation event.
 13. The computer program product of claim 11,wherein establishing the communication session comprises initiating thecommunication session upon receiving from the user one or moreinitiation gestures via at least one of the one or more video capturedevices.
 14. The computer program product of claim 11, whereinestablishing the communication session comprises broadcastingavailability of the one or more video capture devices to the clientdevice upon determining that the user is within a specified opticalrange of at least one of the one or more video capture devices.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, wherein establishing thecommunication session comprises initiating the communication sessionupon receipt of a signal from the client device indicating that theclient device is within a predetermined geographical range of at leastone of the one or more video capture devices.
 16. A system comprising: aclient device; one or more video capture devices; and a server includingat least one processor and a memory storing an application program,which, when executed on the at least one processor, performs anoperation comprising: establishing a communication session between theclient device and the one or more video capture devices; identifying auser of the client device via the one or more video capture devices;negotiating parameters of a video feed for transmission from the one ormore video capture devices to the client device via the communicationsession; and upon transmission of the video feed from the one or morevideo capture devices to the client device, facilitating control of theclient device in response to any device control gesture received fromthe user based upon the video feed.
 17. The system of claim 16, whereinthe operation further comprises: discontinuing the communication sessionand the video feed upon occurrence of a discontinuation event.
 18. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein establishing the communication sessioncomprises initiating the communication session upon receiving from theuser one or more initiation gestures via at least one of the one or morevideo capture devices.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein establishingthe communication session comprises broadcasting availability of the oneor more video capture devices to the client device upon determining thatthe user is within a specified optical range of at least one of the oneor more video capture devices.
 20. The system of claim 16, whereinestablishing the communication session comprises initiating thecommunication session upon receipt of a signal from the client deviceindicating that the client device is within a predetermined geographicalrange of at least one of the one or more video capture devices.